I gasp in horror at the prospect. I shake my fist in protest! I declare that I shall find the book that will do the trick. We just haven’t found the right book yet.
I think I’m looking at this wrong.
Every year, I extol passionately the virtues of reading. I love it myself and see no reason why everyone else shouldn’t share the love. It’s the best, after all. You’re never bored. There is a limitless number of books to read. There are libraries, the ultimate bastion of civilization (this is probably a post by itself), which provides this entertainment – for free! It makes you smarter. It connects us. It improves your memory and focus.
I could go on. And have. But I’ll get to my point now.
In every class, there are a couple of kids who hate reading. They’re not just uninterested, or haven’t found the right thing yet, or anything like that. They actively dislike reading. For context, I teach Grade 7 in Canada, but I think this applies to all age levels, even adults.
I am not talking about kids who have a reading difficulty and it’s harder for them. Audiobooks count! I’m not talking about students who join my class with different home languages, either (I’m in Canada). I don’t care what language you read in, reading is reading.
But, and I can quote one great kid this year with this one, some kids just hate reading and can’t find anything redeemable in using it for a hobby.
I’m starting to realize this is okay.
I can hear your shudders of horror from here, but stay with me for a minute. It should be okay to not like something and I have to come to terms with that thing being reading. I’m not going to be a voracious skier or video gamer, no matter what the people around me say. That’s ok, too.
I’ve been trying to find other ways of making a connection for kids like this. Because ultimately, the reality is that we all need to be readers to do well in the culture of today and into the future. Our lifestyles demand a proficiency with reading beyond being able to decode words and understand their meaning. Students need to grow to be able to read between the lines, understand context and bias, and, above all, to be able to learn from all those out there who have come before them.
After all, reading is the ultimate distillation of knowledge from those we won’t ever get to speak to, be they a writer from the distant past or a person who is simply inaccessible to us in the here and now.
How else will someone be able to read the wisdom of a thinker of 1500 years ago? 100 years ago? 50 years ago? How else will a student in school hear the thoughts of a successful entrepreneur, or a philosopher, or an athlete in the upper echelons of their sport? We have so much access now that it seems downright unethical to not appreciate the ability to understand it at will.
So, I’ve been trying to find a way to, if not make the kids love it, at least make sure they understand its value.
Here are some of my ideas:
- Build connection in the class. Creating a culture of learning can lead to an appreciation of reading and consuming knowledge. If students appreciate each other and feel connected, they are more likely to work off each others’ strengths.
- Introduce students to lots of content that is not book-based. Share Youtube videos with them. Introduce them to podcasts and audiobooks. Perhaps they’ll discover someone that way who they will read more about later.
- Understand that planting the seed might mean that it does not sprout until much later. Simply providing access to the wildly vast expanse of knowledge that we have at our finger tips is enough, as long as we teach them how to consume it properly – with curiosity.
- Present reading as more than just finding stories and reading for entertainment. Make sure they understand that they can read for a purpose to learn more (this worked for one of my students who developed an interest in entrepreneurship podcasts, which led to at least one book being read that I know of!)
- The skill that’s even important than reading is thinking – teaching them that is vital. Plus, thinkers read, so we’ll trick them into it!
This post was inspired by my student this year who hated to read, but was a brilliant thinker. It just goes to show, sometimes we learn as much (or more!) from our students than we can every hope to teach them.
What do you think? How have you helped others to appreciate the value of reading?